


The Freedom to Love

by Mizmak



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Declarations Of Love, First Kiss, Fluff, I can't seem to stop writing variations of the first kiss, M/M, Romance, Short & Sweet, some theological musing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22134052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mizmak/pseuds/Mizmak
Summary: A bit of musing about that whole "it was all planned from the very beginning" notion, set after the last scene at the Ritz.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 58





	The Freedom to Love

_“To the world.”_

As they clinked glasses, Crowley saw the love in Aziraphale’s expression, and he knew it wasn’t solely for love of the world. He’d seen that same look before, more than once. Love for _him_. _He_ was Aziraphale’s world.

He smiled as Aziraphale leaned closer to tell him more about his adventures in Hell. He seemed to have enjoyed the experience, and had played his role well.

Crowley couldn’t say the same for his time in Heaven.

Eventually Aziraphale got round to asking him about it.

“Not as entertaining as Hell, apparently.” Crowley sipped his champagne.

“No? You gave them a good scare though, yes?”

“Oh, yes.” Crowley had definitely enjoyed _that_ part. “I blew fire at them. I wish you could have seen how stunned Gabriel was. The rest of it, though—“ He hesitated, not wanting to spoil Aziraphale’s fun at his memory of the body swap. So he simply tempered it instead. “Well, let’s just say they weren’t all that nice to you.”

“So long as they leave us alone, that’s all that matters.” Aziraphale took up the champagne bottle to top off both their glasses. He held his up. “Another toast.” He smiled. “To _us_.”

No mistaking _that_ look. Crowley clinked his glass. “Always.”

He watched Aziraphale as they drank. The angel’s eyes fairly twinkled with joy, and he couldn’t seem to stop gazing at Crowley. There was so much love in those eyes that Crowley felt a sudden stab of yearning. He wanted to go back in time and erase every moment of their history when they hadn’t been speaking to each other, every minute when they hadn’t been in the same place together.

“What are you thinking about?” Aziraphale asked. “You looked far away just then.”

“Hm? Oh, I was thinking about wasted time.” Probably not the most useful activity. He ought to focus on all of the good moments instead. They had, after all, spent a great deal of the past six thousand years in each other’s company, and a lot of time being friends.

Aziraphale nodded. “I know what you mean.” He paused, then his expression changed to a more thoughtful, sober one. “Remember when you asked if the Almighty had planned everything from the very beginning?”

“Yeah, at the bus stop.” Nothing had made much sense to him then. It made as good an explanation as anything else.

“I’ve been thinking about that. It has to be true – after all, the Almighty _is_ both omniscient and omnipotent. Everything _had_ to be planned, all of it, including everything that happened with _us_ over all those centuries."

“Everything?” Crowley wondered. He’d been selected by Lord Beezlebub to be the one demon who dwelled on Earth – but then, an _omnipotent_ deity could have arranged that choice. “You know, you could be right. There were ten million demons who could have been chosen to stay on Earth, yet _I_ wound up here – the least demonic, most ineffective, least harmful one of all. Any other demon would have caused a lot more bloodshed and destruction. Yet Lord Beezlebub chose me. Is that even _remotely_ likely?”

“Truth to tell,” Aziraphale replied, “that does seem like the worst possible choice Hell could have made.” He smiled again. “And it was a choice that I’ve been immensely grateful for over the centuries.”

“So have I.” Crowley shivered. Imagine being stuck here all these millennia with anyone else…it didn’t bear thinking about. He returned the smile. “Wonder why I got to be so lucky.” 

“I think…well, no. I _know_ why.Because the Almighty knew you’d fall in love with being here. And I was chosen for the same reason. She needed an angel who would fall in love with Earth as well, and one who could be tempted into an ‘arrangement’, and who could become friends with a demon. At some point, Hell was going to unleash the Antichrist upon Her creation, but we’d be there to stop it. We were both set up from the very beginning.”

“Not sure I like being set up.” Crowley finished his champagne. “I liked it better when _I_ was the one making world-saving decisions, not merely doing what I was already meant to do.”

“Well, yes, there is that. But it came out all right in the end, didn’t it?”

“I suppose it did.” Crowley set down his empty glass. “Let’s take a stroll through the park, back to the bookshop.”

“All right.”

As they walked through the park, under the midday sunshine, Crowley adjusted his usual saunter so that Aziraphale could match his stride, and then he slid his arm around the angel’s waist.

Aziraphale started, came to a halt, and looked at him. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He sighed, then slipped his arm around Crowley’s waist as he resumed walking. They strolled slowly and comfortably together, with a new intimacy that Crowley savored. 

“You know,” Aziraphale said as they reached the Blue Bridge and started over, “if everything was indeed planned, then the Almighty knew that we would swap bodies to avoid punishment.”

“Agnes Nutter knew that.” A light went off in Crowley’s brain. “ _Oh_. Right. “Agnes had divine inspiration, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, of course. I’ve been studying books of prophecy for centuries. No one makes _that_ many accurate ones without a bit of help.”

“But Angel – if the Almighty knew we’d swap bodies – and didn’t interfere – that means She _let_ us escape punishment. _Why?_ ”

“Our reward, perhaps?” Aziraphale’s hold tightened a little. “Letting us stay here on Earth, arranging for Heaven and Hell to leave us alone…letting us be…together?”

Reward? Crowley considered this intriguing idea. Why would God reward a demon – unless She knew, and of course, She must have known, that he’d never meant to fall in the first place… _damn_. Out of ten million demons to choose from – suddenly it all made sense. His “fall” had been an accident – a carefully orchestrated accident, one that put a fallen angel in Hell who hadn’t meant to be there, whose heart wasn’t in being demonic, one who wouldn’t cause a lot of trouble on Earth. He truly _had_ been set up from the very beginning.

Had She also known that he was the only one in Hell who could have wound up loving an Angel?

Crowley shook his head. He didn’t want to dwell on this any longer. “Could be,” he said simply, echoing Aziraphale’s words from the bus stop. “I wouldn’t put it past Her.”

They strolled on through the park and into Soho. 

Aziraphale made sure the bookshop’s sign was turned to Closed as he locked the door. “Nice and quiet.”

Crowley sauntered over to the sofa and flopped down in a comfortable sprawl. “I like quiet.”

“Really?” Aziraphale went to the small kitchen area, where he took out two mugs and snapped his fingers. He handed a mug of steaming cocoa to Crowley as he joined him on the sofa. “I didn’t think that peace and tranquility were your strong suit.”

“Not in the past. Been a bit too much turmoil of late.”

“Yes, I had noticed.”

Crowley laughed. He sipped the soothing cocoa. “Your quiet little bookshop has an appeal right now. Much calmer way of life.” He wondered if he might just stay here…his flat didn’t seem that attractive any more. Aziraphale would let him stay, of that he felt certain.

In fact, the angel seemed to read his mind as he asked, “Are you sure it isn’t _too_ quiet for you here?” 

Crowley took off his sunglasses and looked at him as he replied. “It’s _all_ right.” He took a deep breath. “I want to stay.”

Aziraphale sighed. He set down his barely touched mug. “You won’t get bored?”

“Bored?” Crowley put down his cocoa. The thought never crossed his mind. The only thing filling his mind and soul and heart at that moment was how much he needed to be with his angel. 

He turned towards Aziraphale, shifted closer, and pulled him into a tight embrace. “I’ll be fine, as long as you’re with me.” He brushed a hand through Aziraphale’s hair, then down his face, touching fingers to the angel’s lips. “I love you.”

That merest touch felt exquisite, and even more so as Aziraphale kissed Crowley’s fingers. “I love you, too. I always have, and I always will.”

Crowley drifted his fingers across Aziraphale’s cheek, then cupped it behind his head to draw him even closer. Their lips met, and he closed his eyes, taut with tension tempered by need. He _wanted_ this…he needed to touch and to taste and to love. He let out a soft moan as their mouths opened to each other, and he reached a hand round Aziraphale’s head to grab his hair, clutching it, pressing even harder into him. Heat flowed through him, a wave of fire that he couldn’t, wouldn’t bank down. He shuddered as he rubbed against Aziraphale’s chest, against his whole beautiful body, craving every ounce of love the angel was giving.

He sighed as they broke apart at last. He opened his eyes. “Trust me, I won’t get bored.”

He felt a great release, as if something that had been buried inside him for thousands of years flew up to the surface and took flight. More than love – what broke loose at last and took wing was the _freedom_ to love.

And he knew that this love came from his own heart and mind, without any divine assistance whatsoever. It belonged to him, and to Aziraphale, and they would own it and cherish it forever.

“Stay,” Aziraphale whispered, his forehead touching Crowley’s, his hand around his neck. “Yes, _stay_.” 

_Freedom_. Crowley kissed him again, and again – the love that had been held back for thousands of years out of fear of losing it forever broke free – unchained at last. 

Then he held Aziraphale, and they stayed there for a long time, caressing each other, and holding each other, safe in a world of their own. 

They would not be parted. Not ever.

_And it was good._


End file.
